


The Cat

by Burgie



Series: The High School AU of Fluff and Good Things [2]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 12:11:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16325993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: In which Daniel discovers that the shit of a cat has a very attractive owner. Daniel/Daine belongs to HellishSam and I forget Olivia's blog oops.





	The Cat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HellishSam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellishSam/gifts).



“Cloud, come back!”

The black cat, a large, black, fluffy girl wearing a purple collar with a golden bell, darted between the legs of students, puffed up to twice her regular size. On her heels bounded a very large white dog, tongue lolling out, looking as excited as a dog could be. Several students had to dart out of the dog’s way, crying out in the fear of getting bowled over.

And then, right as it seemed like Cloud would catch the mischievous cat, the cat crouched down and leaped, leaving Cloud barking at the boy who held her while his owner skidded to a stop behind him.

“Dammit, Cloud,” Daniel muttered, bending down to pick up Cloud’s trailing leash. The small dark-skinned boy huffed as he looked around for the stupid cat. She’d run off with one of his damn pencils, but he couldn’t find that. Maybe she’d dropped it along the way.

“Oh, my darling Zee, what mischief have you gotten into this time?” the cat’s owner crooned to her, petting her soft, fluffy fur. The cat purred. Daniel scowled.

“She stole my fucking pencil!” Daniel snapped, trying to glare where the boy’s face should be. But he kept looking up. And up. And damn this boy was tall. Or maybe Daniel was just short.

“Zee, have you been bad again? Stealing this poor boy’s pencil, how could you!” said the tall boy, though he still stroked his loudly-purring cat. Daniel glared at him.

“Why are you so tall?” said Daniel with a huff. “And don’t pet her, she’s evil.”

“My Zee is nothing of the sort, are you?” the tall boy cooed, smiling as Zee touched her nose to his chin.

“You owe me a new pencil,” said Daniel with a huff, and turned to walk away with Cloud. But before he could go more than two steps, he felt something tap his shoulder. Daniel turned around, surprised to find his missing pencil held out in front of his face. He took it, blushing just a bit.

“Now we are even,” said the tall boy, smiling at Daniel. “The name is Ydris, by the way. Ydris the magnificent.”

“The… drama club kid?” Daniel asked, the name ringing a bell.

“Ah, then you have heard of me!” said Ydris.

“Yeah, I’ve heard you’re full of yourself. Good to see you’ve lived up to that,” said Daniel. Ydris frowned.

“You wound me,” said Ydris. Daniel smirked.

“And now we’re even,” said Daniel, pocketing his pencil and walking away with Cloud in tow. He looked back only once, seeing Zee winding around her owner’s legs and purring up a storm. He wondered how Ydris was able to maintain his deep purple pants with a cat like Zee, Cloud’s fur ruined every black thing he owned.

He also wondered how the owner of such a shit of a cat could be so… handsome.

Slowly, over the course of a few weeks, Ydris began to appear in Daniel’s sketchbook. Just small things at first, what Daniel remembered of his face, the fancy top hat he wore, even his stupid cat made it in there.

“Fuck off,” Daniel muttered as Zee sat on the back of the seat in front of him in the school auditorium, snapping at his pencil. The lighting in here might not be the best, but, well… Ydris was in here rehearsing, and Daniel was supposed to be helping to come up with some music and backdrops for the upcoming play. That was the only reason he was here, certainly not the first reason. Even if the current topic of his sketch was… wait where the fuck wa-

“I didn’t know my muscles were so big,” Ydris murmured, his voice too close to Daniel’s ear. Daniel screamed, hugging his sketchbook to his chest so fast that he almost bent the book. In his terror, Daniel shoved everything into his backpack and swung it onto his back, hearing the crunch of something. He spun around, heart racing, and gazed in dismay at the sight of Ydris clutching his nose.

“Sorry!” said Daniel, and booked it out of there.

Daniel ended up on the football field, bending over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. His sweaty black hair fell in front of his eyes, and he didn’t have the energy to wipe it away. He was too busy catching his breath and freaking out because _Ydris had seen_.

Daniel still wasn’t over it the next day, looking around furtively for Ydris. The drama queen hadn’t been back to class after the incident yesterday, Daniel had heard that he’d had to go to the hospital. He’d felt terrible about it ever since, hugging Cloud and crying his worries into his neck fur. He’d hurt him, ruined that beautiful face, Ydris would never forgive him, never like him, what was the point.

Despite his concerns, Daniel had to go back to the auditorium, had to possibly face Ydris again. He knew that Ydris was there when he saw Zee, picking her way along the tops of the rows of seats. Taking a seat right up the back, Daniel tried to make himself look invisible despite the very white dog next to him.

“You should really consider trying out for the track team,” said Ydris. Daniel froze, his pencil drawing a line through the cat Ydris he’d been drawing. He didn’t dare look up, knowing by Ydris’ voice that he’d been injured. Daniel knew what speaking with a broken nose sounded like, he’d had his share.

“How bad is it?” Daniel asked quietly, looking at Cloud. Cloud tilted his head to one side, wagging his tail, and his tongue lolled out as a white-gloved hand reached out to pet him.

“Why don’t you turn around and look?” said Ydris. “I won’t be mad at you. Frankly, I thought it was adorable. If painful.”

“I’m sorry,” said Daniel, feeling his eyes burn as he looked at Ydris. He had a plaster over his nose, and Daniel felt like crying. He made his escape as quickly as he had the day before.

Despite being well-known as a boy who swung every which way, Ydris hadn’t attended any of the meetings of the LGBT+ club. So Louisa was surprised when she saw him walk into the flag-bedecked room.

“I have a dilemma of a romantic nature, and I have been informed that you two are the love gurus,” said Ydris without any fanfare.

“Okay, what is it?” Louisa asked, her hand stroking over Goldie’s back as he padded into her lap to begin the daily knead. She sat, as ever, cross-legged in her plush rainbow armchair with pillows striped with the colours of the lesbian flag. Her girlfriend, Lisa, reclined in a beanbag, scribbling down song lyrics.

“I have taken a fancy to someone who I believe is a friend of yours, or at least a member of this club,” said Ydris. “His name is Daniel, the-“

“Emo art boy, hair’s a wreck?” Louisa asked. Ydris nodded, his bicoloured eyes lighting up. Louisa pointed, and Ydris turned to see a boy enter the room behind a dog who launched himself onto a couch (the five cats sharing the couch scattered).

“Louisa, I-“ Daniel began, and then stopped dead, his eyes on Ydris, his mouth hanging open.

“Daniel, wait!” Ydris called, but Daniel was already on his way out of the room, Cloud loping after him. Ydris sighed, turning back to the lesbian love gurus. “You see? That happens every time he sees me lately, after yesterday.”

“Yeah, he felt pretty bad about hurting your nose,” said Louisa. “And he was embarrassed that you saw his art.”

“But his art is beautiful! What is there to be ashamed of?” asked Ydris.

“Some people are shy about showing their feelings for their crush,” said Lisa.

“Yeah,” said Louisa. “You should go after him, though.”

“But where did he go?” Ydris asked. “He’s long gone by now, surely.”

“Try the football field,” said Lisa. “Olivia said she saw him there yesterday. She goes out there to practice her flute, she said she likes the atmosphere or something but I think she just likes one of the football players.”

“Definitely,” said Louisa, nodding.

“Okay, thank you,” said Ydris. He left the room at a rather fast pace, not wanting to miss Daniel.

Out on the football field, Daniel hugged his knees to himself, Cloud lying down panting beside him. They sat at the edge on the grass, away from any flying balls. Daniel used to come here to draw, but not anymore. Too many people to see him drawing Ydris. Now, he sulked, resting his chin on his knees. Twice now, he’d run away from Ydris. Was he running away from his feelings? No, he decided, not really. He was just running away from what he’d done, even if it had been an accident. He burned with humiliation, closing his eyes so he wouldn’t cry.

A hand touched his shoulder, making Daniel almost jump out of his skin. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting it to be-

“Daniel?” Ah, fuck. Of course it was him. Daniel didn’t know whether to feel dread or relief, but he couldn’t deny the relief.

“What?” Daniel mumbled into his knees. He felt Ydris sit down beside him. Zee was nowhere to be seen (or heard), thankfully.

“You do not need to be afraid of me,” said Ydris. “I am not mad at you.”

“But I hurt your nose,” Daniel mumbled. “I broke it.”

“Yes, and that did hurt,” said Ydris. “But I did enjoy your art. It looked excellent, and I felt flattered.”

“Thanks,” said Daniel, almost too quiet to hear. “And then I went and ruined your pretty face.”

“My nose will heal,” said Ydris. “And it will still look perfect, the doctors assured me. But I find your face quite pretty as well.”

“What?” Daniel looked at him now, feeling floored all over again by how elegant Ydris’ features were. If Daniel hadn’t known he was gay before, well, now…

“I like your eyes,” said Ydris. “Like shades of amber.” Daniel’s heart tripped in his chest.

Nearby, Olivia saw the pair sitting very close together, Ydris’ long fingers gently tilting up Daniel’s chin.

“My time has come,” Olivia whispered, sneaking closer and launching into Can You Feel the Love Tonight on her flute.

“But they’re not that good,” said Daniel, hearing the music but choosing to ignore it.

“I disagree,” said Ydris. Daniel blushed, turning his head away. The action resulted in Ydris’ hand cupping his cheek. He… really liked it.

“Your cat’s still a bitch, though,” said Daniel. “Is that, like… a dealbreaker?”

“Zee is a bitch,” said Ydris. “But I love her.” Daniel laughed, feeling a flutter of warmth as Ydris swiped away a stray tear with his thumb.

“Hope you don’t mind white fur on your clothes, Cloud’s a cuddler,” said Daniel.

“I need to carry a lint roller on me at all times for Zee,” said Ydris. “It is nothing unusual.”

“So that’s how you do it,” said Daniel. Ydris nodded, smirking.

“While I do look this good naturally, I do have many tricks to enhance that,” said Ydris. “Just… not with that many muscles.”

“Oh, god, you’re never gonna let me forget that, are you?” Daniel asked. Ydris laughed, shaking his head.

“I also do not possess the same features as my cat, though the art is still very flattering,” said Ydris. Daniel sighed, though he was reluctant to pull away from Ydris’ gentle touch.

“Just… one thing,” said Daniel. Ydris looked at him, curious. “My parents don’t know I’m gay, so…”

“We will be discreet,” said Ydris. “I promise.”

“Okay, good,” said Daniel, feeling the last nerves fall away. Now, he could let himself fall, knowing that Ydris would be here to catch him.


End file.
